Business Platinum Card® from American Express vs. American Express® Business Gold Card

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Both of these credit cards offer excellent perks and rewards for business owners but they also have high annual fees. For some businesses, the annual fee is worth it. You can also choose to get both cards but depending on your usual monthly expenses, one may work out better than the other. We’ll dive into the details in The Business Platinum Card® from American Express vs. American Express® Business Gold Card.

Welcome Offer

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has the following welcome offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. American Express® Business Gold Card has the following welcome offer: Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*

According to American Express, points are worth between a half-cent and a penny each, depending on how you redeem them. However, no matter how you redeem them, more points are worth more money. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express bonus is worth at least $1,200, while American Express® Business Gold Card is worth about $700. With both cards, you can get more value if you transfer the points to travel partners. All things considered, we give the nod to the Platinum card.

Cash Back Rewards

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on Amex Travel, 1.5 points on key business expenses and everything over $5,000 (up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year), and 1x points on everything else. Key business expenses include:

• construction material and hardware suppliers
• electronics goods retailers
• software and cloud systems providers
• shipping providers

The American Express® Business Gold Card recently revamped their rewards. It now offers 4x points on the two categories where you spend the most money each month (from 6 eligible categories) and 3x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel. As far as the two categories you spend the most money in, you can choose from:

• U.S. electronics good retailers and software and cloud systems providers
• U.S. monthly wireless telephone services
• transit purchases, including taxicabs, rideshares, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways.
• U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. restaurants
• U.S. gas stations

You earn the boosted rate on up to $150,000 combined purchases from the top two categories per calendar year, then 1x points.

However, since these are American Express cards, there are a slew of other benefits and credits that come with each card. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express gets you a $200 Airline Fee Credit, $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit, a wireless credit (up to $120 a year), $400 credit towards Dell Technologies U.S. purchases through 12/31/24, $360 Indeed credit through 12/31/24, $150 Adobe credit through 12/31/24 and boosted status at Marriott and Hilton Hotels. Terms Apply.

American Express® Business Gold Card offers a $240 (up to $20 monthly) on U.S. purchases from FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores; a $155 Walmart+ credit, and cell phone protection, which was just added.

Here are the details for each card.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Rewards:  

American Express® Business Gold Card

Rewards:

Rates and Fees

Neither card is offering a 0% introductory APR offer at this time. Neither card has foreign transaction fees. The biggest difference is that the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has an annual fee of $695, whereas the Gold card has an annual fee of $375.

Who the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is Best For

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a great card, especially if you travel for business. You get 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels, plus you get airport lounge access. Centurion lounges are the gold standard for airport lounges, but if your travels don’t take you to an airport with a Centurion lounge, the 1,400 other lounges you get access to are nice, too.

Business owners who often spend more than $5,000 on a single transaction will appreciate the 1.5x points on those purchases. High-spend business owners who travel will be a great fit for this card.

Who the American Express® Business Gold Card is Best For

American Express® Business Gold Card is a good fit for businesses that spend up to $150,000 a year in combined purchases on any two categories listed above. If you spend more than $150,000, you will earn only 1x point per dollar. If that’s you, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express might be a better fit because the 1.5x points on every purchase over $5,000 has a pretty high cap of up to $2 million in purchases per year. Over the long term, you might earn more cash back with the platinum.

Does it Make Sense to Get Both Cards?

You could. Certainly, people do. You could use the American Express® Business Gold Card to pay for the categories Amex gives you a boost in, and when you pass the $150,000 threshold, switch to the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. However, most businesses may find one card a better fit than the other.

Approval Odds

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

American Express® Business Gold Card

Since both of these are American Express cards, sometimes people don’t report credit limits since there technically aren’t any preset spending limits. There is a pay-over-time feature, but not everyone uses that. That said, since both of these cards are issued by American Express, credit requirements are pretty similar.